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Geeks are not Killers!

Monday

OK, so the whole damned country is going nuts about Littleton. I don’t want to appear uncaring, but aren’t there larger tragedies that have gotten glossed over more quickly? And, exactly why do all of the reporters have to mention the two psycho kids’ love of video games, as if that explains everything? Now, of course, the clueless administrators of our screwed-up school system have gone on a witchhunt to root out any other weirdos that may be harboring homicidal tendencies. Like, oh, pretty much anyone that I could stand from my high school.

I realize that people want to do something, but they can’t seem to understand that perhaps there is nothing they can do, nor was there anything most people could have done beforehand. Obviously, there were all kinds of hints that these two kids needed assistance, not the least of which was the bomb-making factory in the garage. Can you say, “What parents?”

Let me be a voice of common sense and reason in these troubled times. My friends and I put together an amazingly cynical “underground” newsletter in high school, and very few of us ended up murdering our friends. I owned a trench coat, I like to wear black (very slimming), and I listen to pretty obnoxious music (at least that’s what some people claim). So, am I going to go crazy? Did I murder a bajillion people and leave their bodies to rot in my basement? Guess not. So, maybe not everyone who is not a mainstream dork is homicidal. If you actually look at the real stats, the level of teenage violent crime/murder is actually at a low point. And, most people find violent games to be cathartic, not training aids. Ever felt like running over that pedestrian that jaywalked in front of you? Go play Carmageddon. Wish you could design a town, to prove you’re smarter than the town elders? SimCity. Ever want to shoot down an airliner? Play any of a jillion flight simulators. After being in the Army for ten years, and playing a lot of games like Quake and Duke Nukem, etc, my aim has still not improved on the firing range, nor do I have any desire at all to own a firearm. Do I like blowing up aliens and evil zombies? Sure. Do I know the difference between reality and a game? DUH.

Remember a few years ago when some kids burned their house down and the parents blamed Beavis and Butthead? If your kids are able to get to matches while still not understanding that poorly drawn cartoons are NOT role models, perhaps the fault lies closer to home.